Sleeve blank

ABSTRACT

A sleeve blank for holding at least one container of the type having a closure portion which protrudes outwardly beyond the external surface of the body thereof. The sleeve blank includes a top panel, two opposing downwardly foldable side panels extending from the top panel, a bottom panel extending from one of the side panels and an inwardly foldable locking panel extending from the other side panel for locking engagement with the bottom panel. According to the present invention, the two side panels are each provided with at least one first die cut arranged adjacent and extending parallel to at least one of the folded edges thereof. The side panels also have at least one second die cut arranged to terminate at and extending perpendicular to the first die cut. The die cuts on the two side panels are arranged in opposing relationship on the sleeve blank so as to permit the panels to expand at the points surrounding the closure portion of a container.

United States Patent [73] Assignee [72] Inventor Kenneth MichaelSternfeld Hackensack, NJ. [21] Appl. No. 855,696 [22] Filed Sept. 5,1969 [4 5] Patented Sept. 14, 1971 Lever Brothers Company New York, N.Y.

[54] SLEEVE BLANK Primary Examiner-Joseph R. Leclair AssistantExaminer-Steven E. Lipman Attorney-Brumbaugh, Graves, Donohue & RaymondABSTRACT: A sleeve blank for holding at least one container of the typehaving a closure portion which protrudes outwardly beyond the externalsurface of the body thereof. The sleeve blank includes a top panel, twoopposing downwardly foldable side panels extending from the top panel, abottom panel extending from one of the side panels and an inwardlyfoldable locking panel extending from the other side panel for lockingengagement with the bottom panel. According to the present invention,the two side panels are each provided with at least one first die cutarranged adjacent and extending parallel to at least one of the foldededges thereof. The side panels also have at least one second die cutarranged to terminate at and extending perpendicular to the first diecut. The die cuts on the two side panels are arranged in opposingrelationship on the sleeve blank so as to permit the panels to expand atthe points surrounding the closure portion of a container.

PATENTED SEP1 4 \QYI SHEET 1 OF 2 T R A R m R P FIG. 3

INVEN'I'OR.

KENNETH M. STERN F his ATTORNEYS PATENTED SEP] 4 I971 3.604.614

SHEET 2 OF 2 FIG. 6

INVEN'IY KENNETH M. STER LD ,2p ;aa /Q his ATTORNE S SLEEVE BLANKBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a sleeveblank for holding one or more containers therein.

It is often necessary, in the packaging art, to pack two or morecontainers, vessels, or tubs of food or other consumer products in aneasily carried sleeve or jacket. Such a plural pack is necessary sincecontainers of consumer products must be made sufficient small to permitconvenient use of the product in the household. Some of the consumerproduct containers presently on the market, such as those employed, forexample to contain whipped oleomargarine, ice cream or the like, arecircular in shape and are provided with an easily replaceable lid orclosure which seals the container when closed. This type of container isoften preferred by the purchasing public since, after the product whichit originally carriesis consumed, it may be used to conveniently storeother products in the household.

When wrapped in a sleeve or jacket, containers of the type justdescribed have been locked in position by cutting notches or openings inthe sleeve blank to permit the closure portion of each container thatis, the portion with the greatest diameter to project through the sleeveon either side. The width of the sleeve is accordingly made somewhatsmaller than the closure portions of the containers so that thecontainers are held snugly in place.

The above-described arrangement, with the openings along the sides of aa plural pack sleeve, causes difiiculties when a number of such sleevesholding their respective containers are stored or packaged together sideby side. Because the closure portions of the containers project throughthe openings in the sleeve, they have a tendency to overlap and catchthe closure portions of the adjacent sleeved containers. Thisoverlapping, which is known in the packaging art as shingling, can, atbest, create an inconvenience when packing or unpacking the sleevedcontainers and, at worst, result in an unwanted removal of the lids ofthe containers and/or damage to the sleeve.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION N An object of the present invention,therefore, is to provide a sleeve blank which is suitable for holdingcontainers of the type having a closure portion on at least one endthereof which protrudes outwardly beyond the external surface of thebody of the container, and which will engage the containers to preventthem from falling out without causing shingling or overlapping when anumber of sleeved containers are arranged side by side.

This object, as well as other objects which will become apparent in thediscussion that follows, is achieved, according to the presentinvention, by providing the sleeve blank with a plurality of die cuts inplace of the previously used openings.

More particularly, the sleeve blank according to the present inventioncomprises a top panel, two opposing downwardly foldable side panelsextending from the top panel, a bottom panel extending from one of theside panels and inwardly foldable beneath the held containers, and aninwardly foldable locking panel, extending from the other side panel, topermit a locking engagement with the bottom panel. The two side panelsof this sleeve blank are provided with at least one first die cutarranged adjacent and extending parallel to at least one of the foldededges thereof and at least one second die cut arranged to terminate atand extending perpendicular to the first die cut. The first and seconddie cuts of one side panel are located directly opposite the first andsecond die cuts of the other side panel at the positions at which theside panels are to come in contact with the closure or lid portions ofthe containers. These die cuts thus permit the two side panels to expandat the points in contact with the closure portions so that thecontainers will be held in place.

Shingling or overlapping of the closure portions of the containers isprevented since the closure portions cannot project BRIEF DESCRIPTION OFTHE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sleeve, formed from onepreferred embodiment of a sleeve blank according to the presentinvention. This sleeve is arranged to hold two containers of the typeused to pack soft oleomargarine ice cream or the like.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a prior art sleeve blank suitable for holdingtwo containers of the type shown in FIG. I. This sleeve blank isprovided with openings to engage the lids of the containers.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the sleeve blank which is shown in folded formin FIG. 1. This sleeve blank is provided with die cuts according to onepreferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a sleeve blank having die cuts according to asecond preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a sleeve blank having duc cuts according to athird preferred embodiment of the present inventron.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a sleeve blank having due cuts according to afourth preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The preferred embodiments ofthe present invention will now be described, and distinguished from theprior art, in connection with FIGS. 1-6 of the drawings.

The sleeve blank to which the present invention relates may be made ofcardboard or other foldable packaging material. As shown in FIG. 1 thesleeve blank is intended to be folded in such a way as to surround oneor more containers. To permit a view of the containers by the purchasingpublic and to minimize the amount of packaging material included in thesleeve blank, the ends of the sleeve are left open to expose thecontainers. FIG. 1 shows a sleeve blank arranged to surround twocontainers 2 and 3 of the type used to hold soft oleogargarine, icecream or the like. The containers 2 and 3 are closed by means of lids 4and 5, respectively, which project radially outward beyond the bodies ofthe containers. These projecting lids thus form convenient means bywhich the containers can be held in place, to prevent their slipping outthe open ends of the sleeve.

FIG. 2 illustrates an unfolded sleeve blank which has been used in theprior art to package containers of the type shown in FIG. 1. This sleeveblank has a top panel 6, two side panels 7 and 8, and a bottom panel 9having suitable tabs to effect locking engagement with opposing slots ina locking panel 10. Alternatively, the locking and bottom panels can besealed together in the folded sleeve with a suitable adhesive. Openings11 and 12 have been provided in opposing relationship on the side panels7 and 8 to receive the projecting lids 5 and 4 of the containers 3 and2, respectively.

Although the openings 11 and 12 adequately serve their intended functionof fixing the containers in place within the sleeve, they also permitthe container lids to come in contact with and engage the lids of othersimilarly sleeved containers when such plural packs are arranged side byside.

The above-mentioned shingling" can be completely avoided if, in place ofthe openings 11 and 12, the sleeve blank is provided with die cuts inthe side panels according to the present invention. FIG. 3 shows asleeve blank having one preferred embodiment of such die cuts in theside panels comprising first opposing die cuts 13 and 14 arrangedadjacent and extending parallel to .the foldable edges of the sidepanels 7 and 8. Second die cuts 15 and 16 extending transverse to thefirst die cuts meet the ends of the first die cuts 13 and 14,respectively. The combination of the first and second die cuts in thesleeve blank 1 permits the side panels 7 and 8 to expand at thepositions in contact with the lids 4 and 5 of the containers 2 and 3,respectively, as shown in FIG. 1. Because the side panels 7 and 8 willstill present a smooth surface, even though expanded by the containerlids, the die cuts according to the present invention effectivelyprevent shingling when the sleeve packs are arranged side by side.

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 illustrate, respectively, three other embodiments ofthe additional blank die cuts according to the present invention. In theembodiment of FIG. '4 only one second die cut and 16 is provided foreach first die cut 13 and 14. The second die cut meets the correspondingfirst die cut perpendicularly at the center thereof where the greaterexpansion of the side panels 7 and 8 is anticipated.

To prevent possible tearing of the sleeve blank by the container lid itmay be necessary under certain circumstances to additional ones of thesecond die cuts to each first die cut as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Theembodiments of FIGS. 5 and 6 are especially suitable in cases whereinthe sleeve blank is made of relatively rigid material. In FIG. 5, thereare three second die cuts 15 and 16 for each first die cut 13 and 14,while in FIG. 6 there are a large number of second die cuts equallyspaced along the respective first die cuts.

It will be appreciated that various modifications and changes can bemade in the sleeve blank die cuts of the present invention, in additionto those noted above, without departing from the essence of the presentinvention.

What is claimed:

1. in a sleeve blank for forming a sleeve pack, suitable for holding atleast one container that has a body portion and a closure portion on atleast one end thereof, which closure portion protrudes outwardly beyondthe external surface of said body portion, said sleeve blank comprisinga top panel; two opposing downwardly foldable side panels extending fromsaid top panel through respective continuous folded edges; a bottompanel extending from one of the side panels and inwardly foldablebeneath said container; and an inwardly foldablelocking panel extendingfrom the other side panel'for locking engagement with the bottom panel,the improvement wherein said two side panels have first and second diecuts only at least one opposing first die cut in each side panelarranged adjacent, and extending parallel to, at least one ofthecontinuous folded edges of said side panels and at least one opposingsecond die cut arranged to terminate at, and extending in the' directionaway from said adjacent continuous folded edge and perpendicular to,said first die cut, whereby said first and second die cuts permit saidtwo side panels to expand at the points surrounding said closure portionof said container thereby to engage said container and whereby thesleeve pack presents smooth side surfaces to an adjacent sleeve pack,

2. The improvement defined by claim 1, wherein said two side panels eachhave two sets of said first and second die cuts for engagement with saidclosure portions on the upper ends of two separate containers.

3. The improvement defined by claim 1, wherein there are a plurality ofsaid second die cuts for each of said first die cuts and said second diecuts are arranged to terminate at different points along said first diecuts.

4. The improvement defined by claim 1, wherein there are two of seconddie cuts arranged to terminate at the ends of each of said first diecuts.

5. The improvement defined by claim 1, wherein there is a single seconddie cut arranged to terminate at the center of each of said first diecuts.

6. The improvement defined by claim I, wherein there are three of saidsecond die cuts arranged to terminate at the ends and at the center ofeach of said first die cuts.

7. The improvement defined by claim 1, wherein there are at least fourof said second die cuts arranged to terminate at the ends and at pointsintermediate between the ends of each of said first die cuts.

1. In a sleeve blank for forming a sleeve pack, suitable for holding atleast one container that has a body portion and a closure portion on atleast one end thereof, which closure portion protrudes outwardly beyondthe external surface of said body portion, said sleeve blank comprisinga top panel; two opposing downwardly foldable side panels extending fromsaid top panel through respective continuous folded edges; a bottompanel extending from one of the side panels and inwardly foldablebeneath said container; and an inwardly foldable locking panel extendingfrom the other side panel for locking engagement with the bottom panel,the improvement wherein said two side panels have first and second diecuts only at least one opposing first die cut in each side panelarranged adjacent, and extEnding parallel to, at least one of thecontinuous folded edges of said side panels and at least one opposingsecond die cut arranged to terminate at, and extending in the directionaway from said adjacent continuous folded edge and perpendicular to,said first die cut, whereby said first and second die cuts permit saidtwo side panels to expand at the points surrounding said closure portionof said container thereby to engage said container and whereby thesleeve pack presents smooth side surfaces to an adjacent sleeve pack. 2.The improvement defined by claim 1, wherein said two side panels eachhave two sets of said first and second die cuts for engagement with saidclosure portions on the upper ends of two separate containers.
 3. Theimprovement defined by claim 1, wherein there are a plurality of saidsecond die cuts for each of said first die cuts and said second die cutsare arranged to terminate at different points along said first die cuts.4. The improvement defined by claim 1, wherein there are two of seconddie cuts arranged to terminate at the ends of each of said first diecuts.
 5. The improvement defined by claim 1, wherein there is a singlesecond die cut arranged to terminate at the center of each of said firstdie cuts.
 6. The improvement defined by claim 1, wherein there are threeof said second die cuts arranged to terminate at the ends and at thecenter of each of said first die cuts.
 7. The improvement defined byclaim 1, wherein there are at least four of said second die cutsarranged to terminate at the ends and at points intermediate between theends of each of said first die cuts.